Both the club’s senior executives and the coaching staff and roster have made it clear during this preseason that, above all, caution is needed and there should be no premature celebration. "I believe the talent and experience in the league are more than sufficient, but I see everyone saying that things look very good this year, and we will see at the end of the season. We have to be cautious because this is sport and the other teams are strengthening as well. Promotions and titles are not won at the start of the season," Casademont president Reynaldo Benito stressed at the gala presenting the new season.
The same approach is also evident inside the club’s locker room. This week, Sergi García, one of the eight new summer signings, said he believed the team had the ability to "do great things," while calling for a "game-by-game" approach because the competition would be demanding and the opening schedule difficult. Meanwhile, one of the team’s veterans, Miguel González, also declined to set a specific league target: "A club like Zaragoza has to be as high up as possible, but for now I would not set any particular objective. We have to see how the team develops, and from there we will be able to identify the real goals the team can achieve."
Casademont will not play in Europe this season. Photo: Pilar Álvarez
Coach Gonzalo García de Vitoria had already avoided discussing specific positions or targets three weeks ago at a press conference alongside Casademont technical secretary Pedro Llompart and his counterpart Carlos Cantero: "I don’t usually talk about league targets because there are a thousand things you cannot control. Right now we have a significant injury and it changes the team. We have to be ambitious and eager to do things well, and if we are to have a collective objective, it should be to connect with the fans who go to the Felipe and those who do not go to the Felipe."
A NEW LANDSCAPE
In addition, this season’s circumstances provide Casademont with a different setting from that of recent years. The team will not have to combine domestic competition with European play, giving it full weeks of training while avoiding long trips and the accumulation of midweek games. This could help a virtually new roster develop and give García de Vitoria more time to fit the pieces together.
Therefore, the positive preseason impressions are fueling excitement, but no one at Casademont wants to get ahead of events. After concluding the preparation period next Sunday with the final friendly against UCAM Murcia, the first official test will come at the end of September with the Liga Endesa opener against Tenerife. That will be when the new project begins to show its true level and demonstrate what heights it can reach in a year when the club wants to take another step forward.
